Marcos cites gains made from Germany, Czech trips

Manila Bulletin

Philippine Airlines flight PR001 carrying the Chief Executive, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and the Philippine delegation landed at exactly 3:11 p.m. at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City from his six-day visit to the two European states.  In his arrival speech, the President talked about meeting German businessmen and the $4 billion worth of business agreements that they reached.  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/16/marcos-in-germany-czech-republic-what-the-philippines-gains  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00 I am pleased to share with you and the Filipino people the results of my

00:05 back-to-back visits to Germany and then to the Czech Republic. My visit to Berlin

00:11 was also part of the 70th anniversary of Philippine-German diplomatic relations

00:17 and the Philippines and the Czech Republic are celebrating as well 50

00:21 years of bilateral ties. In Germany I was able to meet with Chancellor Olaf

00:27 Schultz and discussed matters of significance to both our countries

00:31 particularly on upholding the rule of law and promoting a rules-based

00:37 international order as well as enhancing cooperation in the areas of peace and

00:42 development, defense cooperation, maritime cooperation, trade and investment

00:48 including on critical raw materials and renewable energy, climate change and

00:53 labor. I emphasized the Philippines commitment to a clean energy future and

00:59 invited German investments in green energy initiatives. Chancellor Schultz

01:03 also remarked on the crucial role of our overseas Filipino workers in Germany and

01:08 once again we highlighted their contributions to the economy and to the

01:13 society of Germany. In the Czech Republic I met with the heads of the Czech

01:18 government President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the heads

01:23 of the Czech Parliament Senate President Miloš Vištřil and speaker of the

01:29 Chamber of Deputies Marketa Pekarova-Adamová. We discussed ways to

01:36 further strengthen our bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade and

01:40 investment, defense, agriculture, renewable energy transport and of course people to

01:46 people exchanges. I underscored the Philippines remarkable economic

01:51 performance and invited Czech businesses to invest in the areas of IATBPM,

01:55 electronics manufacturing, food and agriculture and automotive and electric

02:02 vehicle manufacturing amongst other things. I also met with German and Czech

02:07 businessmen as they are keen to expand their ventures to the Philippines and

02:12 I'm glad to announce that my German visit resulted in business agreements

02:16 for projects with an aggregate value of four billion dollars in the sectors of

02:20 renewable energy, manufacturing, health care, innovation and startups, IATBPM,

02:26 minerals processing, agriculture and aerospace. During my time in Berlin I was

02:33 able to discuss with Lufthansa Technik its expansion plan in the Philippines

02:37 which entails the construction of a second hangar in Clark. This expansion

02:43 project is valued at 150 million dollars or 8 billion pesos. I also extended my

02:51 appreciation to Siemens for their unwavering support and confidence in

02:55 Filipino talent and the company's continuing commitment to support the

03:00 capacity building of Filipino technical personnel in the field of health care. In

03:05 the Czech Republic I received business agreements in pivotal sectors such as

03:09 semiconductors and ITBPM that underscore a shared commitment to bilateral

03:16 cooperation, facilitating exchange programs and skill enhancement

03:21 initiatives. Germany and the Czech Republic have also expressed their

03:26 valuable support for the resumption of the Philippines EU free trade agreement

03:31 negotiations. In this regard I have authorized DTI Secretary Fred Pasqual to

03:37 make the necessary follow-up on the progress of the FTA discussions at the

03:41 EU headquarters in Brussels where he is presently. During the visit several

03:47 agreements covering important areas of cooperation were signed. The joint

03:52 declaration of intent on strengthening cooperation in the maritime sector

03:56 between Philippines and German transportation agencies. The

04:01 cooperation program between the Technical Education and Skills

04:05 Development Authority or TESDA and the German Federal Institute for Vocational

04:10 Education and Training and as well as the joint communique on the

04:15 establishment of labor consultation mechanisms between Philippine and Czech

04:19 labor agencies. This came about also because the Czech Republic has

04:26 expanded its quota for Filipino workers to go to the Czech Republic from about

04:33 5,000 previously to now it is 10,300 a year. And finally I had the honor of

04:40 course of hosting and addressing our Copabayans in separate events in Berlin

04:44 and in Prague. There are more than 35,000 Filipinos in Germany and

04:51 around 7,000 in the Czech Republic and I reassured our countrymen of this

04:56 government's unwavering commitment to creating more job opportunities and

05:01 improving our economy ensuring that they can return home to the Philippines

05:06 and earn a livelihood without having to sacrifice their time with their loved

05:10 ones. Overall I am confident that these visits to Germany and the Czech Republic

05:16 have strengthened our bonds with these two countries in Central Europe and

05:19 created opportunities for cooperation and prosperity.

05:26 you

05:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended